Young Americans: Dentist, law professor, Air Force cadet reflect on post-award life

Thursday

May 8, 2014 at 8:43 AMMay 8, 2014 at 4:01 PM

By Corina CurryRockford Register Star

BELOW: Profiles of past Young Americans

ROCKFORD — Young American life isn’t easy, but past recipients often will say the hard work it takes to earn the recognition pays off many years down the road.

It prepares you for the even harder work of college and other challenges, and — because the Young American Award looks at the whole person and not just academic success — it also can help young people get a jump start on the art of work-life balance.

The Rockford Register Star will honor a new class of 20 Young Americans this weekend.

Per tradition, we take a moment now to catch up with previous winners.

Joining the family dental biz

Brenton Soltys remembers meeting President Barack Obama back in 2005 when the then-U.S. Senator Obama came and spoke to his class of Young American Award recipients.

“That was pretty neat. We all got to shake his hand,” Soltys said. “He told us congratulations. Now, he’s the president.”

But the award meant more than that, Soltys explained. It felt good to be recognized.

“To get that honor was pretty big,” Soltys said. “It kind of meant that all of the hard work and effort that I put into school and extracurriculars paid off.”

Soltys was a senior at Rockford Lutheran High School when he was named a Young American. He has since attended and graduated from Marquette University with an undergraduate degree in biological sciences and the Marquette University School of Dentistry.

He followed in his father’s footsteps and is now a dentist in Rockford practicing with his dad, Brian Soltys.

“I like that I was able to grow up with a dad who is a dentist,” Brenton Soltys said. “He was a big influence on me. I was able to get that exposure early on and see how he is with patients.”

After working for one year in Alabama, Soltys, 26, said he’s ready to put down roots in his hometown of Rockford.

“I’m happy to be back. I just got my own place. I’ve joined Ignite, the chamber’s young professionals group. ... Eventually, I may want to move downtown. I think downtown is really starting to come alive.”

Advocating for equal education

Kristi Bowman, Young American Class of 1994, is celebrating 10 years as a law professor, eight of them at Michigan State University College of Law.

Back in 1994, Bowman was an Auburn High School senior.

She went on to Drake University, where she got undergraduate degree, and Duke University, where she earned her master’s and law degrees.

“Part of the reason I love my work is that it allows me to engage in advocacy regarding education, an issue very important to me,” Bowman wrote in an email. “This April, here at MSU, we hosted a major conference to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education and the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. We brought to campus people who were parties in major school desegregation cases and heard their stories, attorneys who litigated some of these cases, and also judges and scholars who provided thoughtful commentary on the significance of the law in this area.”

This summer, Bowman is looking forward to fresh tomatoes and basil. She and her family — husband, Gabriel Wrobel, and 2-year-old son, Quinn Bowman Wrobel — just installed raised vegetable gardens at their home in East Lansing, Michigan.

“Quinn likes to ‘help’ me garden,” she wrote.

Dancer studies foreign relations

Two years ago, Genevieve Clemens was sitting at a table at the Young American Awards with 39 other young people from across the Rock River Valley.

Clemens was a senior at Boylan Catholic High School, headed for the U.S. Air Force Academy.

After graduation, she went to basic training and then on to her freshman year at the academy. The summer after her freshman year she completed evasion and survival training and earned her Jump Wings by parachuting solo five times.

Today, Clemens is a sophomore. The 19-year-old Caledonia resident is studying foreign area studies in Europe with a focus on political science and a minor in Spanish, and she’s a member of the Air Force Academy’s dance team, performing at all home football and basketball games.

This summer, she will be headed to Mexico for a summer language immersion program and to the United Arab Emirates to study deployed operations.

Being named a Young American back in 2012 was a surprise and an honor, Clemens said.

“I loved meeting other students from all over the community that had incredible plans for their future,” Clemens wrote in an email. “It showed me that the Rockford community supported the goals and aspirations of its youth.”

Genevieve Clemens, 2012 Young American Age: 19 Family: Parents, Douglas and Celine Clemens; siblings, Dana, Brendan, Austin, Lauren and Kevin Residence: Caledonia and Colorado Springs, Colorado, site of the U.S. Air Force Academy. Education: Boylan High School, Class of 2012; United States Air Force Academy, finishing sophomore year. Advice for today’s Young Americans: Young Americans should be prepared to take responsibility for their actions. After high school, your parents will not be able to fix your mistakes. However, this is also something to be excited about because you will have the freedom to learn about yourself from your own experiences and grow into the person you want to be.

Brenton Soltys, 2005 Young American Age: 26 Family: Parents, Brian and Donna Soltys; brother, Doug Residence: Rockford Education: Rockford Lutheran High School, Class of 2005; Marquette University, cum laude, Class of 2009, biological sciences; Marquette University School of Dentistry, magna cum laude, Class of 2012, doctor of dental surgery, dentistry Advice for today’s Young Americans: Work hard, very hard. School is only going to get more challenging. ... Whatever you chose to do — put your heart and mind to it and definitely give it all you can.